In January 2005, HIP's board gathered in Miami, Fl for two days of meetings. During the first day of the meeting, we held a panel of local experts (Sergio Bendixen, President of Bendixen and Associates, Jorge Mursuli, Florida Director of People for the American Way, and Josie Bacallao, President of Hispanic Unity) who presented an “Analysis of the Latino vote in the last election, and trends for the future”.
The presentations spoke to the growing importance of the Latino vote in the U.S., as evidenced during last year’s presidential election, and looked at trends in Hispanic voting patterns (nationally and locally in South Florida) while analyzing different strategies used by the Republicans and Democrats in their efforts to woo the Latino vote. The presentations were substantive and thought provoking, and led to a rich discussion by the panelists, HIP board and staff and representatives from the Knight foundation who were in attendance.